Some good reading...

October 30, 2007

I spent yesterday afternoon working on putty and paint in the boys's room, so they slept on their mattresses on the floor instead of in their bunks. For some reason, it scared them. Liam, trying to "comfort" Milo had this to say:

October 18, 2007

First reason: Because my house looks like this (or did) in almost every room. OK, actually it's clean now, but it's looked like this for the last three weeks. (FYI, the color is TOTALLY off in that picture, and I'm too tired to fix it. The green is actually SUPER GREEN APPLE green, and the new color is the ever popular and old favorite "Navajo White". If you get bored with this long post, feel free to skip back up here and you can play "I Spy". See if you can find these things...2 antique door hinges, a 200GB external hard drive, a sawzall, a box of garbage, two telephones, a remote control, a mini compressor, a box of bills and important papers, some one-step spackle, a remote control, 2 packages of bubble wrap, and a container of Dewalt drill bits. Good luck with that.

Second reason: My husband has been in Maine on a business trip, and I'm lucky to still be alive. Being alone with three boys for 8+ days can kill a girl. Seriously though, how do single parents do it?!

Third: Senior pictures are due tomorrow and I spent the last three weeks shooting and editing like a madman. Glad that's over for the year!

...and the biggest reason being...

We are furiously in the throes of finishing our house. A lot of you already know, but if you didn't, we're hoping to put it on the market within the next few weeks. It's sort of surreal and odd to me that we wait until we're ready to sell it to do all these nice things to it, but I sort of understand that that's the normal curve of home ownership, especially when you buy a "fixer upper" like we did. It's been a great two years here in this house, and I have to be careful not to get all sentimental about it, but it's time to sell it and make some changes happen for our family.

There are a few things driving this decision, but the biggest reason we're doing this is because the house is old, and Jude is not doing well in it. Although we do our best he just needs better. He needs a newer, cleaner home with better windows, an updated heating/cooling system, a better environment. It's not a bad house, but for someone with his problems, we're finding out we could do better for him. We've just spent too much time at the Dr or in the hospital this past year, and at our Dr's urging, we are making changes to hopefully help him for the better. Unfortunately, for now that means going smaller- we'll be moving once the house sells to a little 2 bedroom apartment, but it's new and should be easier to keep perfectly clean. I actually like the idea of downsizing for a little while- it really makes me think about my needs and what extras I don't really have to have hanging around my house. I am sad that all the things we wanted to do to this house will not be happening, but I recognize too that there's a point where you can put TOO much into a house and then we'd be stuck in it forever. So I'm swallowing hard, and packing my stuff. Our plan in the coming year is to build a little house that will be better suited for our family's current needs...a better air system, good windows, and a "clean room" for Jude.

A friend of mine said the other day that she felt like we were being rash in picking up and moving- isn't there something else we can do? To be perfectly honest, we have made change after change to try and keep Jude well...removing all the household chemicals, getting a air cleaner, making people wash their hands when they come in and take off their shoes. Those things have all helped, but he still is having a tough time, and we have to do what it is we feel will help him at this point, even if it means selling. What he has is genetic, this isn't something he'll be growing out of as he gets older, and unfortunately at this point Dr's don't know all the things that set this disorder off. We have to find what works for him now, and help him to manage it so he can know his triggers and what to stay away from as he grows. We're coming in to cold and flu season, and last year's was spent 50% of the time in the hospital and Dr's office. I don't want to do that to him again. He needs to live a more normal life, and if giving him a better living space can help him, then that's what we're going to attempt to do. This is the next step after a year of trying everything.

But it's good! It's a new adventure, and Elijah and I are all about adventures.

This past week when he left I decided I wanted to get as much done as possible around the house so it would take some stress off of him. He's been under a lot lately, and my hope was to try and help that out a bit. We managed while he was gone to paint the entire upstairs (all three bedrooms, the hallway and the stairs) a new more subtle color (goodbye, Apple Green office!!), spread manure and seed on the front lawn, repaired the hole in the hardwood floor, caulked, sanded, puttied, put up trim, wainscoting, base, and even managed to get the stairs re carpeted. Thanks to my wonderful friends (you know who you are!) for all your help, late night painting, and moral support. I am so grateful. The house is 99% done on the inside now, and we just have to make a few changes on the exterior (new paint, a handrail and removing some debris from the backyard) and then we'll be ready to put it on the market. It is in fabulous shape, and I'm proud of all we've done to it. I just hope that a family will buy it and enjoy it as much as we have.

So, that's the latest...It's raining today so after I get school finished and the house straight I'll try and put up some pictures of the house and update my links and sidebars.

October 09, 2007

Had a shoot today with Elijah's little sister. She's the best. We had a nice (probably illegal) run around a local golf course. It was really overcast and I've never shot there, but we did a bit of exploring and had a good time. To add to my enjoyment I shot today with a borrowed 5D and two of my dream lenses (Thanks to Chad!!). It was good. I absolutely love this camera...makes mine feel like a kid's toy. Maybe I should run away with it to Mexico?? Hmmm. So tempting. :)

Here's one of my favorite shots...obviously not yearbook material, but it's completely her!

October 02, 2007

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it serenely, and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."